340: AHDB Beef & Lamb: Selecting and breeding replacement heifers for the next generation

“The next generation has always been and will be better than the previous one. If it is not, then the world would not be moving forward” – Kapil Dev, former captain of the Indian National Cricket team.



This is a concept not limited to the world of cricket. Building on your herd foundations from generation to generation is key to the success of a livestock farming enterprise. The selection and breeding decisions you make each year will influence the next generation of your herd.



In this episode, AHDB’s Senior Beef Breeding and Genetics Manager Alex Brown speaks to suckler farmer Sam Awdry, and his farm vet James Ryder about breeding heifers, including selection of heifers based on farm recording and pre-breeding checks, and how he chooses the bulls to use on them. Sam previously ran a semi-flying herd with a mixture of homebred cattle and dairy-bred replacements but has been working hard to reduce their reliance on bought in stock, to avoid disease and increase efficiency.



This episode of the AHDB Food & Farming podcast is part of the Maternal Matters series, which focuses on producing heifers who are efficient, profitable, and fit for the future.




Useful links



Maternal Matters https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/maternal-matters 



How to Body Condition Score your suckler herd https://youtu.be/bV4wfG3q8Ew 



Bull manual https://ahdb.org.uk/Contents/Item/Display/22686 



Garston Vets https://www.garstonvets.co.uk/farm/